Vania



' Patented July 5, 1887.

LEEB. TOR ANNBALING GLASS.

- A. H. HEISEY & J. E. MILLER.

(NoModeL) Witnesses.

rrren.

ATENT AUGUSTUS H. HEISEY AND JOHN E. MILLER, OFPITTSBURG, PENNSYL VANIA.

-LEER FOR ANNEALING GLASS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 365,813, dated July 5, 1887.

Application filed June 23, 1886. Serial No. 206,428. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that we, AUGUSTUS H. HEISEY and JOHN E. MILLER, of Pittsburg, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Leers for Annealing Glass; and we do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

Our invention relates to an improvement in leers or ovens for the annealing of glassware, and is especially applicable to use with leers in which decorated glass or ceramic ware is baked for the purpose of fixing the colors. In order to secure the best results in a leer of the latter-named class, we have found it to be important that the temperature of the article to be annealed be raised very gradually to its maximum degree, and that it be allowed to cool as gradually before its removal from the leer. A furnace constructed according to the principles of our invention possesses this useful quality, besides others, which will be hereinafter indicated. 1

In the drawings, with reference to which we will describe our improvement, Figure 1 is a vertical longitudinal section of the leer on the line as m of Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a vertical crosssection on the line 1 3/ of Fig. 1.

Like symbols of reference indicate like parts in each.

The even consists of an elongated shallow tunnel, 2, whose preferable configuration is that shown in the drawings, the lines of the roof being substantially straight, except at the middle, where they are preferably arched upwardly. Near the base of the tunnel, but elevated somewhat thereabove, is a series of parallel and transverse rollers, 3, which are journaled in suitable bearings and are separated from each other a short distancesay about two or three inches. These rollers are so arranged throughout the whole length of the tunnel, and all being in the same horizontal plane, they form a bed, on which pans carrying the glassware to be annealed or baked can be transported from one end of the leer to the other.

Except the arrangement of the pan-rollers 3 and the elevation of the pans above the floorlevel, which are novel, this leer, as thus described, is of the ordinary and well-known connect it with the overlying fine 7.

construction. Such leers have been heated by the combustion of gas or the discharge of a furnace-flue into the adit end of the leer above the pan-bed; and while this form of leer is perhaps well adapted for ordinary annealing purposes, it is not so good for decorating purposes, and does not afford such facilities for equalizing the distribution of heat and of increasing the temperature at any particular place as does our improved leer.

Referring again to the drawings, 7 is a horizontal flue, which is built ontop of the tunnel or leer, preferably conforming to the latter in longitudinal outline, but somewhat narrower. This fine, as shown, need not be coextensive with the leer, but should extend for a considerable distance to each side of the middle. Connecting ports or flues 8, which traverse the roof of the leer at intervals along its length,

Five of these ports are shown in the drawings; but we do not intend to limit ourselves to their num her or relative arrangement. These ports are fitted with dampers 13, by movement of which any or all of them may be opened or closed. A stack or discharge-flue, 9, leads from the vflue 7 into the open air, and is situate preferably at the middle of the leer.

The leer is adapted to be heated by the combustion of gas, which is-introduced, as shown in the drawings, through two sets of burners, one of which is arranged in the tunnel near the roof, while the other set, also within the tunnel, is situate beneath the bars 3 and be neath the pans which are supported by the latter. The burners 10, which are at the top of the tunnel, are preferably two in number, one being situate on each side of the leer and both extending longitudinally therewith. Each of these burner-pipes is closed in the middle, so as to form two branches, 16 and 17, one on each side of the middle of the leer. Gas pi pcs 18 and 19 lead to these branches, and are controlled by cocks 20, by means of which-the gas may be burned at either or both branches of the burner, and the locus of the greatest heat may thereby be made more regulable. The lower burners, 11, are preferably set transversely across the leer, with their jets arranged so as to discharge the gas in an upward and slanting direction, which will cause the flame Lil to impinge upon a large area on the bottoms of the pans. All of the burners are set at or near to the center of the leer, though in case of the burners 11 they may conveniently be set away from the center, but with their jets so directed as to discharge the flame theretoward, as shown in Fig. 1. Instead of the gasburners, there may be suitable furnaces, burning gas, coke, or other fuel producing little smoke,which discharge their heat through the leer-walls into the middle part of the leer. We intend to include these and equivalent devices by the phrase heat-producing apparatus, hereinafter used by us in the claims. The

pans 14 are, as before stated, set upon the rollers 3, and the ends of adjacent pans are hooked together so as to form a continuous train,which .is drawn through the leer by a chain and drum or directly by the hand of the workman. As the train is drawn forward and a pan removed from the exit of the lecr,its place is substituted by introducing a new pan into the adit of the leer and securing it to the next succeeding pan. The ends of the leer are preferably closed by gates 15,which are arranged to slide vertically within suitable ways, so that they may be raised to open the ends of the leer or lowered to close the same, their function being to retain the heatin the leer as far as possible. At the adit of the leer there are preferably two sets of these gates, the second of which (15) is arranged in front of the outer gate a distance about equal to the length of one of the pans 14. In introducing the new pan of the series into the leer the gate 15 is dropped when the rear gate, 15, is opened to permit insertion of the pan and arrangement of the glassware thereon, and then the gate 15 is closed before i the gate 15is again raised; This arrangement ofthe gates prevents an inrush of cold air from chilling the leer, and is of great utility.

Thus constructed, the operation of our improved '1CGI is as follows: The burning gas from the pipes and 11, discharginginto the middle of the leer, heats this part quite rapidly, while the spent heat and waste products of combustion, spreading through the leer and finally escaping into the squirrel-tail flue 7 through the ports 8, heat the end portions of the leer more slowly, so that as glass is introduced into the leer it encounters constantlyincreasing heat until it reaches the center, and

from that to the exit the temperature of its surrounding air will gradually diminish. As before stated, this condition is the best for the baking of decorated glassware, as, and in practice it will be found that our leer thus constructed and operated is of the greatest utility. If it be desired to increase or diminish the degree of heat at any part of the leer, this can be done by operation of the dampers 13. For example, if the operator wishes to increase the temperature of the ends of the oven, the'flues 8 at the middle of the leer are closed and those at the ends opened, so that a draft of heated gas may be induced through theleer to the ends thereof, and thence through.

the ports 8 into the squirrel-tail flue 7. On the contrary, the closing of the end flues and opening of the center flues will render the leer much hotter at the middle than at the ends, and for the same reason opening of the flues at one end of the leer and closing them at the other will heatthe former end to a much greater degree than the latter. By closing all the ports the heat will be more completely retained in the leer and the products of combustion compelled to pass out of the ends. By means of the situation of a burner or a set of burners above the pans let and another below the pans, the heat of the leer at any given point is more constant than if the heat should have its entrance either above or below the pans singly. Under certain circumstances, where there are facilities for discharging the waste gases llltO the open air and not into the room of abullding, the horizontal flue 7 may b6Qm1libGd and the ports 8 caused to discharge directly 1nto the open air.

The. peculiar feature of advantage In the use of the series of transverse rollers 3, instead of the ordinary friction-wheels journaled on bars or supports, is that they affordv an even bearing on the pans entirely across the width of the same, which holds the pans and their supported burden more steadily and prevents warping of the pans. In the part of the leer where the lower burners, 11, are situate, several rollers of the series are removed to permit free passage of the flame to the pans and to the middle of the leer.

Vhat we claim as ourinvention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A glass-annealing oven having a leer or tunnel, a bed for transportation of glassware therethrough, heat-producing apparatus discharging into the tunnel above the bed, and heat-produ-cin g apparatus, substantially as described, discharging thereinto below thesame, substantially as and for the purposes described.

2. The combination, in an annealing-oven, of a leer or tunnel, heat-producing apparatus, substantially as described, discharging into the leer at the middle part thereof, and ports 8, leading from the tunnel on both sides of the middle part thereof, substantially as and for the purposes described.

3. The combination, in an annealing-oven, of a leer or tunnel, a flue overlying the same and extending on both sides of the middle thereof, heat-producing apparatus, substantially as described, discharging into the middle of the leer, and ports 8, connecting the leer and the overlying flue, substantially as and for the purposes described.

4. The combination, in an annealing-oven, of a leer or tunnel, a flue overlying the same and extending on both sides of the middle thereof, heat-producing apparatus, substantially as described,discharging into the leer, and ports 8, connecting theleer and the overlying flue, substantially as and for the purposes described.

5. The combination, in an annealing-oven,

of a leer or tunnel, a flue overlying the same and extending on both sides of the middle I thereof, heat-producing apparatus, substantially as described, discharging into the leer, 5 ports 8, connectingthe leer and the overlying flue, and dampers for closing the ports, substantially as and for the purposes described.

6. The combination with the leer or tunnel 2, of the doors or gates 15 and 15, situated r0 at the adit end of the leer and arranged to cooperate, substantially as and for the purposes described. v 7. A glass leer or tunnel having a door at each end arranged to co-operate with each I5 other, and heat-producing apparatus discharg- 

